Ras Al Khaimah: Gulf Pharmaceutical
Industries (Julphar) will commission two new plants,
Julphar 8 and 9 by the end of 2007 - that will likely
increase sales to Dh2.25 billion in the coming five
years.
The UAE's largest pharmaceutical
industry is investing more than Dh1.08 billion,
expanding into not only the UAE but also Sudan, Morocco,
Bangladesh and Afghanistan, a top official said.
"Construction is underway in the two
new plants and five others will be constructed soon in
Ras Al Khaimah," said Abdul Razaq Al Yousuf, managing
director of Julphar.
He added that three factories will be
dedicated to producing raw materials and the four others
will play a key role in increasing the company's
production capacity.
"Julphar will invest Dh797 million in
its UAE expansion and Dh288 million abroad," he said.
"One new factory will be set up in
Sudan, another in Afghanistan, another in Morocco and
the last in Bangladesh as part to of its plan to
increase output outside the UAE," he added.
Al Yousuf said there will be an
urgent need for Julphar to start producing the raw
materials and the three new plants should meet all the
company's needs.
"Julphar has Dh180 million worth of
raw materials which is sufficient for the company's
production for the coming six months," he said.
"Julphar aims to prove to the entire
world that the Arab pharmaceutical industries can easily
be an international competitor and that the Arab
ambition is unlimited," he said.
Julphar's five year plan is based on
expanding in new markets to increase its sales
worldwide, he said, adding that currently Julphar has
160,000 cubic meters of storage capacity which will be
increased in the very near future to accommodate the
production of the raw materials of company's new plants.
"Producing the raw materials is strategic part of the
company's plant to expand and increase the sales. We
import our needs of raw materials from American and
European companies which sell for very high prices," he
said. "The prices of the final products are strictly
associated with the prices of the raw materials" he
added.
"Producing new products is not a part
of the company's plan for the coming five years; Julphar
has already 477 UAE patented pharmaceutical products
which is enough and Julphar is capable to produce more
than 60-70 per cent of the patient's needs," he said.
"We will work on registering some of these products in
other countries" he added.
The Ras Al Khaimah Government has
granted Julphar 1.5 million square feet of free land and
another one million square feet to carry out its
expansion plan.
